The X Evolution
by Gemini Star01
Summary: Frontier AU cross with X Men. Xavier Institute has two new students...A pair of twin boys, one with the powers of Light and the other controling Darkness. However, something is haunting Kouichi...Something even the X Men might not be able to stop.
1. Twins

Mm…This is interesting. I probably won't go particularly far with this, maybe two or three chapters, four if I'm pushing it…This is just to expend a little extra creative energy so I can get some real work done on other fics…

Kouji-Kouichi-centric. AU, no Digimon, but the twins do know each other and their parents are divorced. Takuya does appear, but I don't think the others will unless I go all out with this. I like _X-Men: Evolution_ better than the original series, and I know it much better, so that's what I'm using. (Besides, I adore Kurt in Evolution…he's just soooo fun. And I'm not up to dealing with his original-flavored Christian angst…) Don't worry if you don't know X-Men…I have enough explanation in here even for a beginner.

**__**

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or X-Men: Evolution. I'm just obsessed.

****

The X Evolution

Chapter 1: Twins

The tremendous super computer beeped to itself and its user, a bald man confined to a wheelchair, was plugged into the psychic link as usual. His already tremendous powers amplified by the machine's programming, he easily scanned the minds of thousands, no, millions at once, skimming easily away from those who did not need assistance, focusing on those who truly did.

The fantastic machine suddenly sprung into an alert, flinging his attention far from his current location. It was focused on a familiar island nation…he'd been there himself not six months ago…and began to narrow itself down. One island. One very large city. One section of city…

Two houses.

The man was a bit surprised, but found his attention equally divided. There was energy in these two houses, energy that was radiating from two young boys crouched within two separate rooms, deep in their own troubled thoughts, but somehow strangely connected…

One boy sat in the very middle of a room filled with darkness, choosing to be surround by the inky black of night so he could more easily see the ball of white-hot light dancing across his fingers. To the outside observer, he would look to be toying with something similar to the fairies of _Peter Pan_, but his serious and confident smirk told you instantly that he was far too old for pixie dust.

Miles away, an identical boy lay curled in the corner of a room flooded with light. One hand was raised slightly, casting a shadow on the wall. Though the hand was still, the shadow moved and changed shape with relative ease, performing almost as a shadow puppet would, lifting and moving slightly from off of the usually-secure surface. Tension hung over this mind as though its owner was afraid to go any farther…

Their energies resonated with each other, supporting and comforting the other though they were miles apart. Both were restless, unrefined…searching for answers…

The man gave the machine one more order, identifying the boys and calling up their personal records on the visible monitor, then he removed the helmet and turned to the door as it opened.

"You called me, Professor?" the pretty young redhead asked, turning her head slightly in a coy manner. "It's a bit early in the morning for you to be plugging into Cerebro, isn't it?"

The man smiled, turning his wheelchair to face her. "Just a simple scan, Jean…And I've found something rather interesting."

"What?" the young telepath turned her eyes to the huge, projected screen as the school photos of two almost-identical teenagers appeared. They both had dark hair and deep blue eyes, and their faces were almost exactly the same.

"Take a look at these boys." Professor X turned to screen himself. "They are Japanese…from a small area in Tokyo. Fourteen years old. Brothers. Twins. And, if my assumptions of their powers are correct, they would both benefit greatly from our intervention at this time."

Jean Grey raised an eyebrow as she looked at the pictures. She knew what that meant…Cerebro had identified the boys as new mutants, those who had only recently uncovered their innate mutant powers to a level at which they were a possible threat, to themselves and others, without proper guidance. But this was most unusual…

"Twin mutants?" she asked, slightly surprised. "Professor…that's never happened before, has it?"

"Not in our records…" the Professor sighed, beginning to scan through the open files. "But it is possible. More than likely, actually, since identical twins naturally have identical genetic make-ups, if one carries the mutant gene than the other must have it as well…Which is not to say their _powers _may be identical, but we need to look in to these two."

"If you say so, Professor." Jean sighed, smiling slightly, and looked back up at the screen. "You said they were Japanese, right? Should I call Flare? It's his home country after all…"

"No, no." the Professor shook his head with an amused air. "I think it would be better to leave him here…he still hasn't quite adjusted to the culture shock yet. Kitty and Kurt would be wise choices, they know how to make newcomers feel welcome. I'll call Logan…try to be ready in about two hours." He cracked slight smile. "With the time difference, we might just catch them before they leave for school tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir."

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Kouji yawned, tapping off his alarm and blinking at the sunlight streaming through the window. He was wound up for one reason or another, it probably had something to do with his 'practice' last night. He flexed his wrist, getting excited just thinking about it. The ball-of-light trick was getting easier every night…he was almost ready to move up.

About twenty minutes later, (with a quick goodbye to his father and stepmother) he was dressed and on his way to school. He dug his cell out of his pocket as he walked and pressed the first speed dial number.

The tired voice of his brother answered. "Hello?"

"Kouichi, it's me." Kouji didn't really like the way he sounded. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…"

Kouji frowned. He didn't sound fine. "You were working with your talent last night, weren't you?" he sighed. "You know you don't have to keep practicing just because I am. Especially if it always wears you out like this."

There was mumbled that sounded vaguely like an "I know…"

Kouji sighed. "Just don't…push yourself, okay, Nii-san?"

If he closed his eyes, he could almost see his brother's tired smile. "Okay Kouji. I'll see you after school."

There was a small click and the line went dead. Kouji sighed and slipped the cell back into his pocket, shaking his head slightly. Part of him was now wondering what the heck he and his brother had gotten in to.

These 'talents', as they called them, had only appeared about a month ago. Waking from a nightmare, he discovered that, somehow, light itself responded to his thoughts. He could gather it to him, contain it in a semi-solid form, send it wherever he wanted it to go. On the same day, his brother had found his own power, over the anti-light particles that made darkness and shadows, bringing them under his control in an almost identical way.

At first it had been a game, testing their limits, sitting out in the park or in their rooms together, toying with their strengths, creating games and challenging each other to go further and further…

But then something went wrong. Horribly wrong.

Kouji shuddered just thinking about it, and it hadn't even happened to him. The result had left Kouichi terrified to try even the simplest of his 'tricks' for weeks. He'd only started up again because Kouji had begun practicing by himself late at night, cautiously building up his own strength, and Kouichi had wanted to help…

But he'd never go far…He was too afraid.

Kouji sighed as he entered the school gates, pushing the thoughts out of his mind. No time to dwell…He needed to get to class.

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Jean sighed, trying to clear her mind and search, but she had a lot to sort through first.

Logan had landed the Blackbird in a bunker somewhere in the back of Tokyo International Airport, the cloaking device activated just in case anyone entered. Upon checking the time, it was discovered to be a little after noon…but, it was also Saturday, and as the Professor explained, Japanese students only had half a day and would be getting out very soon.

As such, he and Logan had set off to find the boys' parents…starting with their father and stepmother with hopes to contact their birthmother soon afterwards. Jean, Kitty and Kurt were sent to try and 'apprehend' the boys before they got home from school, to try and "Break them in early," as Logan put it, and not jump them with it as soon as they got home.

This, however, was not as easy as usual for a number of reasons. First of all, they were used to going after only one potentially dangerous young mutant at a time. Not only were there two of them, but the elder of the two (Kouichi, Jean had to remind herself) lived with their divorced mother and went to one school, while his brother (Kou_ji_, remember it, Kouji) lived with their father and went to another.

Which was why she was currently on the roof of a high apartment building, trying to clear her thoughts and scan the minds of the city for any mutant signatures she didn't recognize.

Kitty, standing beside her, shifted from one foot to the other nervously. Kurt, his hologram projector still firmly in place, was leaning over the edge and staring down at the streets. Jean was sure by his posture and expression that his tail was twitching.

"Vell?" he asked in his heavy accent, turning blue eyes back at the redhead. "Have you got anything yet?"

"…Not yet…" Jean muttered, eyes closed.

"Chill out, fuzzy." Kitty sighed, glaring slightly. "We're in one of the biggest cities in, like, the world. It's gonna take a while."

"Like you can talk! You vant to meet them as much as do!"

"At least I'm not…"

"I've got them!" Jean suddenly exclaimed, causing both of the younger mutants to snap their heads around and Kurt to almost fall over. "They're near by…separate, but near. One of them…I think it's Kouji…is only two streets that direction…" she pointed off to the right. "And his brother's about half a mile that way." she pointed vaguely, but not quite, left.

"I'll get that vone!" Kurt volunteered perkily.

"Just make sure you're translation chip's on properly." Jean tapped the small, black chip installed on her temple. "And try not to…"

_BAMPH!_

"…scare him." Jean groaned, shaking her head at the puff of smoke where Kurt had been standing. "Oh boy…"

"Let's just hope the kid's not easily startled." Kitty sighed, checking her own chip before taking Jean's hand and smoothly phasing them down through the levels of apartments.

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

_BAMPH!_

Two or three tele-jumps later, Kurt found himself crouching in a small alleyway… but he peaked out to find a boy with dark hair walking slowly towards him. Though he was looking at the ground, Kurt could see his face enough to recognize him from the pictures he'd been shown.

"That's him, all vight!" under his hologram, Kurt's pointed blue ears wiggled excitedly. For someone of a different nation, he thought the boy looked an awful lot like his holo-self, just a bit shorter. "I can't vait to find out vat he can do!"

He slipped out of the small alley and stood in front of the boy. Still staring at the ground, the new mutant (potential friend!) didn't notice him and continued walking, deep in thought. Kurt took a deep breath, checking both his translation chip and hologram inducer, before putting on his friendliest grin before moving forward.

"Hi!" the other boy was startled and looked up suddenly, stumbling back. Kurt grinned even wider. "Don't ve scared. Your name's Kouichi, yah?"

The boy's blue eyes widened a bit more. "Do I…know you?"

"Now you do." Kurt leaned forward a bit. He was a little taller than the other, so this made them about eye level. "I'm Kurt Vagner. My friends and I are here to help you."

"With what?" Kouichi looked more than a little shocked, taking a hesitant step backwards.

"Vell…" Kurt leaned back, rubbing his head. "It's…sort've hard to explain…" It came to him suddenly and he snapped his fingers…which must have looked very strange to the outside observer, as his five-fingered hologram made it seam like he used two fingers and a thumb to do it.

"Here, come vith me!" he snatched Kouichi's hand and started pulling him into the shadows of the alley. "Jean is so much better at explaining this that I am."

"H-Hey!" Kouichi exclaimed, yanking back. The tone in his voice was of one about to be mugged. "Let go…what're you…"

_BAMPH!_

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

"Who exactly are you people?"

Jean laughed awkwardly. She and Kitty had 'phased' out of one of the apartment buildings right in front of their target, much to the long-haired boy's startled surprise. That was the awkward part…the laugh came from the thought that had sprung into his head when he saw them. _"I thought I lost those fan club freaks!"_

Kitty just grinned and giggled in her cute-flirt manner. "Sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't startle me." the boy growled, visibly annoyed.

Jean had to intervene before he stormed off. She coughed once to regain her composure. "You're Kouji, right?"

"Yeah. Who're you?" came the curt snap.

"Well…My name is Jean Grey, and this is Kitty Pryde…" Kitty grinned and waved, getting a cold look. "We're from a school called the Xavier Institute…"

_BAMPH!_

Accompanying the unbelievably loud noise was a large puff of smoke, and two figures appeared out of it. The first was Kurt, crouched over slightly, grinning wildly past his hair. The other Jean managed to identify as Kouji's twin brother a few seconds before he fell over, possibly out of shock.

"I found 'im!" Kurt proclaimed, obviously quite pleased with himself.

"Kou…ichi?" Kouji blinked, surprised, then rushed over to help him back on his feet.

"Oh…Kurt!" Kitty exclaimed. "We told you not to scare him!"

"I didn't." Kurt grinned at Kouichi. "I didn't scare you, did I?"

Kouichi blinked up at him. "How…did you…do that?"

Jean stepped forward, blocking Kitty and Kurt's argument before they could get heated. "He's a mutant, of course. We all are." she smiled warmly at the twins. "And, if our readings are correct and they usually are, you two are as well."

Kouji raised an annoyed eyebrow. "We're what?"

"Mutants." Kitty said brightly, as though responding that they were male.

Jean cleared her throat. "Please don't take that the wrong way…We don't mean extra arms or anything like that…at least, that doesn't usually happen." she grinned slightly at Kurt, then turned back to the twins.

"So what do you mean?" Kouji had taken over the talking…Kouichi seamed happy to blink and tilt his head, listening patiently.

"Well…It's simple enough…" Jean motioned to them to keep moving so they wouldn't attract a lot of attention. "There's a gene you can be born with that makes you a 'mutant'…a variation of a normal human. We call this the 'X-gene', and only a small number of the population have it. Normally, it lies dormant for the first part of your life…until you hit puberty or something similar."

Kurt poked her. "Too much detail, Jean."

Kitty swatted him in the back of the head with a 'shush'. Jean shook her head at them before continuing. "Anyways…The gene is what makes you a mutant, and when it 'wakes up', we've found that mutants gain unusual powers."

That made both the twin's eyes widen. Jean nodded. "That rang a bell, huh?"

Kouji glared, but Kouichi shifted slightly. "So…So other people can do…things? Like us?"

"Well, no…" Jean frowned. "That is, we don't really know until we know what you can do. Different mutants have different powers…Like Kurt over there. As you probably guessed, he can teleport within short distances."

"Yah." said mutant grinned sheepishly at Kouichi. "Sorry if I scared you back there."

Kouichi gave him a kind of half-hearted nod. Jean smiled and motioned to the other female. "And Kitty here 'phases'…She moves through solid objects."

"Yup." Kitty giggled. "You should've seen me the first time it happened. I, like, freaked!"

Kouichi blinked, confused. Kouji turned and glared at the remaining red-haired mutant. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Jean smiled just a bit. "Well, I'm…telekinetic."

The twins blinked at her, and it occurred to Jean that the translator chip (which had implanted the Japanese language into their minds temporarily, so that they heard themselves speak in English) might not have a word for the term.

Jean paused and sighed. She motioned her hand towards an old soda can which had been sitting on the ground nearby. It shook a moment, then lifted into the air and floated over to hover near Kouji's right ear. She let it drop and grinned. "That's what I can do."

"Uh…huh." Kouji blinked, but somehow seamed calmer than before. He glanced at his twin, who shrugged impassively. He turned back to the other three. "So…What was this 'Institute' you were talking about?"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

"The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters is only a front name." Professor Charles Xavier lectured, as he did to the parents of most new students, giving a thoughtful look over steepled fingers. "What we truly are is…a training ground. A school, to teach young mutants to control their often volatile powers."

He turned his eyes to the gathered group. Minamoto Satome…the boys' stepmother…was sitting on the couch beside Kimura Tomoko, their birthmother. Tomoko's arms were looped over the shoulders of Kouichi, the son she had custody over…originally, they had been around his neck, but she had released when he began turning blue. He and his brother were sitting on the floor in front of them. Their father, Minamoto Kousei, was sitting in an arm chair nearby, eyeing the group of strangers…especially Logan, who was standing by the Professor with an almost protective glare.

Charles cleared his throat. "As I have told you, Minamoto-sans…Kimura-san… Your sons have both discovered their own special powers, as have many other young mutants before them. When properly trained, these talents can be used responsibly, to help people who aren't able to help themselves. However, if they are left _untrained_…they can very, very dangerous."

"What kind of powers?" Kimura-san suddenly spoke up. "What can the boys… do?"

Professor X sighed. "We don't know yet. That's one of the reasons the boys should consider a stay at the Institute…"

"One of the reasons?" Kousei glared. "What are the others?"

"To learn control, as I have said." the Professor nodded. "And for fellowship… There are many, many students there, the same age and older, all with secrets to hide of their own. And also for protection…"

"Protection?" Tomoko gasped, pulling Kouichi in a bit tighter. "From what?"

"…Humans." the Professor sighed. He was quiet a moment, then turned back. "I can't lie to you about this, there are many, many 'normal' humans who find mutants a…a threat. Most of them refuse to let themselves be persuaded on the subject, holding fast to prejudices that mutants are monsters…freaks…without even bothering to consider their feelings or pain. They've tried before to have governments 'tag' mutants, register them, lock them up, treat them like animals for show or experiments…" He shook his head sadly.

"And can your…school…protect them from something like that?" Kousei growled. "From your government?"

"We can, and we have for many, many years now." Professor X smiled. "And we will continue to do so…Though, as I have said, our first purpose is to train students in the use of their powers, for their own protection as much as for other's."

Kouji glanced at his brother, and for a moment their eyes met. Then the younger brother snapped his head to the man. "We'll do it."

"Kouji!" Tomoko and Satome exclaimed at once.

"It isn't your decision!" Kousei snapped.

Kouji glared at him. "Look, you're the one who's always lecturing on finding out about something before you mess with it." he narrowed his eyes. "Wouldn't it be better to get advice from somebody who knows, rather that wing it?"

Kousei gaped, but his son didn't give him time to respond. "Kouichi, you think so too, right?"

The elder twin just nodded, with a very slight little smile, though the Professor felt a strange, hesitant air hovering around his mind like a dense fog. He brushed it off after a moment as a small case the jitters at the potential of moving across the ocean.

Tomoko looked down at Kouichi, who had turned his head up to look at her with an unreadable expression. For a moment the two simply looked at each other, then the woman finally sighed.

"…All right." she whispered, softly, hugging the boy tightly. "If you really think… It's for the best…"

Satome nodded towards the other woman softly, turning to look at her husband. "Kousei…I think Tomoko-san is right."

"What?"

"If the boys do have these…powers…" Satome bit her lip slightly. "How are we… How are we supposed to help them? We can't even understand…"

Kousei faltered a moment, looking between his wife, ex-wife, and each of his sons in turn. Then he sighed, shaking his head a moment before turning to look at Xavier once more.

"Fine. If you can help the boys…Fine."

A small smile slid over the Professor's face. "Excellent. We'll begin working on the travel plans immediately."

**__**

TBC…


	2. Introductions

You know, you'd think that summer vacation would make it easier for a high school author like me. But it's not, because even though I have more time on the computer, I have more distractions, and I go on more trips. That's my excuse for taking so long to update. Gomen, gomen.

BTW, occasionally the twins (and sometimes Takuya or Logan) will speak in Japanese. When that happens, it will be shown with /speech like this/.

**__**

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or X-Men: Evolution. I'm just obsessed.

****

The X Evolution

Chapter 2: Introductions

Normally, a flight from Tokyo to upper-state New York would take at least twelve hours, if not more, no matter which direction you flew in. However, the Institute's Blackbird was no ordinary jet, and the estimated time of flight was easily reduced to five hours.

Kouichi watched the crystal blue ocean stretch endlessly out below the window, clutching the fully-stuffed back pack in his lap. Behind him, Kitty and Kurt were chatting away in English…they had removed the black translator chips from their temples, leaving Logan, the only one of the bunch who actually spoke both languages, as the translator for the twins.

Kouji reached over from his seat and squeezed his brother's hand comfortingly. /Nii-san? You okay/

Kouichi turned and smiled a little at his brother, returning the comforting squeeze. /Yes, I'm fine./ he whispered as well, shaking his head as though to get water out of his ears. /I'm just…a little nervous, that's all./

Kouji squeezed again, a tad bit harder, and looked about to respond when Logan cut him off, turning back in the co-pilot's seat next to the Professor. /Relax, kiddo. Nothin's gonna get'cha once we get to the school./

Kouichi was startled, but nodded in understanding and thanks. Kouji, on the other hand, scowled at the man in stubborn annoyance. The older brother cocked his head at his twin. /Kouji, what's wrong now/

/He speaks in _Kansai_./ Kouji muttered, sounding annoyed.

Kouichi smiled a bit, hiding minute giggles behind his hand. Kouji gave him a slightly put-off glare as well, crossing his hands over his chest. /It's not funny…/

Their conversation was cut off by an announcement from the Professor, translated by Logan for the new student's benefit. "Please be seated and prepare for accent as we enter past the coastline. We will be reaching the Institute in one hour…"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Ororo Monroe, a.k.a. Storm, heard the sirens and whistles that accompanied the return of the Blackbird to its hanger, but refrained from rushing to greet the new arrivals. Instead, she headed to the infirmary to don a white lab coat for their preliminary physical…as the only resident currently holding an MD, the task naturally fell to her.

About five minutes later, Logan appeared at the door, leading an almost-identical pair of teenage boys. The white-haired African woman smiled warmly and motioned for them to come in

"It's nice to meet you." she gave a slight bow, as was polite custom in their native country. "My name is Ororo Monroe."

Logan muttered a stream of unfamiliar to the boys, and Storm remembered that these boys spoke Japanese, not English. The shorter-haired of the two muttered something that sounded like, "…Ololo-san." which she could only assume was her name.

"Ah…right." Ororo turned suddenly and opened a certain drawer, taking out two small, black computer chips. She came to the longer-haired of the boys…Kouji, according to the records…and reached to brush his hair clear…

The boy yanked his head away, glaring fiercely like a cornered wolf. "It's all right." she sighed slightly, letting Logan mumble a translation. "These are just small programs to help translate into a language you understand."

The long-haired boy pulled back further, still untrusting. Ororo sighed, then moved to his brother instead. "Look, see?" she positioned the tip against the skin of the elder twin's temple. "It'll only hurt for a bit…"

The boy let out a small cry as several small, sharp metal spikes pierced his skin at once. His brother stiffened, this time protectively, as he grabbed his twin by the arm and glared at Ororo savagely.

"It's all right, it's all right." Ororo soothed as Logan growled. "Look, see, it's all in place."

Kouji turned to his brother, who was blinking around as though waking from a dream. Ororo smiled at him, leaning down to look him in the eye. "Can you understand me?"

The boy…Kouichi…blinked, then nodded. "…Yes."

"Good. Then it's working just fine." Ororo picked up the other chip and positioned it at Kouji's temple as Logan held the boy still by his shoulders. Before he could really react, she had snapped it into place.

"Ye-OW!" the boy exclaimed, snapping his hand to the point. "That hurt!"

"I'm sorry." Ororo grinned, standing. "But the translation is working very well." She smiled up at the burly man in her door. "Thank you for your assistance, Logan."

The feral man grunted in response. "Call me if there's any trouble." He grumbled and left, shutting the door smartly behind him and leaving the three of them alone.

Ororo cleared her throat. "Let's try this again, shall we? My name is Ororo Monroe…But you may call me Storm, if you would prefer." She smiled warmly. "You're Kouji…and Kouichi. Correct?"

The boys nodded in turn. Ororo smiled a bit wider. "Now, I'm just going to be conducting a simple physical evaluation, just to check up and evaluate your health and abilities…"

The 'exam' lasted less than an hour. She examined each boy separately, checking their breathing and heartbeat, looking over medical records and asking for very small demonstrations of power.

"Interesting…Very interesting…" she muttered, making notes as Kouji toyed with a small ball of light. "Complete control of light particles without a neutrino of harmful radiation. And this other power…Entirely contradictory, yet somehow related…Very interesting, very interesting indeed…"

She made a few more notes, then set down the clipboard and smiled once again. "All right boys, all done. Someone should be here soon to show you to your room…"

There was a loud series of raps on the door and she sighed. "Speak of the devil… Come in, we're ready!"

The door opened.

Kouji had been expecting another adult…Logan, or the Professor, someone like that. He had not been expecting a boy about his age, with brown hair and eyes and lightly tanned skin, grinning wildly from ear to ear. There was a yellow baseball cap on his head, backwards, covered slightly by a large, gleaming pair of square-shaped goggles. He smiled up at Ororo almost cheekily. "Hey Storm!"

"Hello, Flare." The woman sighed, smiling, and motioned to the twins. "This is Kouji and Kouichi, respectively. I need you to show them to their rooms, if you would."

"Sure!" the boy…Flare?…turned to the others and grinned impossibly wider. "Hey! My name's Takuya, Takuya Kanbara. You're from my neck of the woods, right? Tokyo?"

"Um…yes." Kouichi blinked, then smiled. "Are you from Tokyo as well?"

"Yup!" Takuya grinned, tapping the small, black chip by his temple as he lead them out into the halls. "Born and raised, 'til about six months ago…"

"What happened six months ago?" Kouji asked bluntly.

"Ah…my power sortta 'woke up'." Takuya rubbed his head sheepishly. "And, well, I kinda burned down a portable classroom…"

"You WHAT!"

Takuya stopped, pulling out a lighter from his pocket and snapped it into the life. Then he raised the other hand and snatched the flame into it, forming into a ball of fire that hovered on the tip of his fingers.

"See? This is my power. I control fire…not too original, I know, lots of people around here can do it. And see, my history teacher was real fond of scented candles, you know, the strong-smelling kind. And it was hot and talking about the War of the Roses and all…I guess fell asleep…and next thing I know, three desks had caught and it just went downhill from there…"

The twins stared at him blankly, as though unsure whether to laugh or not. Takuya grinned and doused the flame. "Yeah, I know…stupid, huh?"

He cleared his throat sheepishly and pointed towards a door on the hall. "This is the room Professor X had set out for you. I take it you don't mind sharing."

He opened the door, revealing two single beds, a wide window, two desks and a bookcase, along with a small door that lead to an adjoining room. The window overlooked a nicely-done back yard, complete with a pool, basketball court, green house and enough lawn to play pro football, which would have been more normal than whatever it was the kids were playing. The grass around them occasionally caught fire, to be doused by a number of heat-triggered sprinklers, as both the players and/or the ball disappeared and reappeared at random intervals.

Takuya grinned at them, pointing to the second door. "My room's in there. Just knock if you ever need anything…at least, after 7 and before 10. Otherwise, the roomy gets a little annoyed." He turned back to the beds, where two suitcases and a few other small bags had been set up at the separate bases.

"The Professor said he wanted to give you the rest of the day to settle in." He said brightly, a wide grin forming over his features. "But tomorrow's your _real_ welcoming."

"And _that _is supposed to mean…?" Kouji prompted, raising an eyebrow.

A wide grin worked it's way across Takuya's face. "Well, the Professor wants to see your powers in action, and there's only one thing for that."

"Which would be…?"

"The Danger Room, of course."

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Logan rolled his eyes at Takuya as he entered to command room, the large doors sliding shut behind him with a metallic swish. "What exactly did you tell the newbies, fireball?"

"Just the truth." Takuya shrugged, a slight grin on his face.

Both of them were dressed, as was the rest of the group, in their separate 'uniforms', as was required when they worked in the Danger Room. Most of them had the base of skintight black body-suits, though several of the more 'active' X-Men had their specially-made designs. Takuya's, for example, had a low-slung, curved orange X across his chest, coiling around his arms and legs, while Kurt's had a large streak of red covering his torso.

Logan narrowed his blue eyes down at the grinning boy. "What _part_ of the truth?"

Takuya grinned slightly wider, rubbing the back of his head in a fake-sheepishly manner. Logan growled slightly under his breath, though most of the other boys were laughing behind their hands.

Jean sighed, shaking her head. She was getting a few small glimpses of Logan's 'pep talk' with the twins, the incident floating at the top of his mind. For one thing, there appeared to be quite a lot of tension between 'Wolverine' and the younger of the boys, Kouji. And apparently, Takuya's 'truth' hadn't skimped on any of the Danger Room's details, making an explanation of the X-Men's…extracurricular…exploits quite a challenge.

The large doors to the men's 'locker room' slide open, ushering in a slightly nervous-looking Kouichi and a scowling Kouji, both dressed in the plain black-with-X-shaped-shoulder-pads that most of the 'in-training' students wore.

They were approached almost immediately by a tall high-school boy with dark red-brown hair, wearing a thin visor over his eyes. "Hi." He smiled, offering his hand. "Scott Summers. Nice to meet you."

Unused to the customs, it took just a moment for the twins to figure out what he wanted, first bowing, then reaching out to shake his hand. Scott nodded in understanding, giving a small bow of his own. "I take it Takuya and Logan gave you a decent run-down of what we're going to be doing today."

Kouji muttered something under his breath in Japanese, which caused his brother to elbow him in the side, turning the light shade of pink usually worn by mothers when their young children say something highly offensive. Takuya burst out laughing and Logan barely let a smirk slide across his lips.

"I believe we should take that as a yes." The Professor said softly, wheeling himself forward. He turned to the boys with a slight smile on his face. "I assure you, despite the name, you will be in no real danger during our simulations. This is just to make sure that if something does happen in the real world, you will be prepared to counter it."

The expressions on the twin's faces read that they understood. The Professor didn't press for a vocal recognition, anyone could tell these were two very private people.

"All right then." He smiled a bit wider, turning to address the entire group as well as the twins. "For this exercise, we will be entering the Danger Room in teams of five. Scott, you'll take Takuya, Bobby, Kitty and Kouji. Jean, your team will consist of Rouge, Kurt, Evan and Kouichi. Agreed?"

"Yes sir." Scott piped, saluting brightly. Jean nodded as well.

Storm, Logan and 'Beast'… the ever-blue and hairy Dr. Hank McCoy…took their separate places at the various monitoring panels within the control room as Scott's team gathered in the elevator. The Professor could feel Kouji's reluctance…not about going into the Danger Room, because it seamed that he was actually exciting at the prospect of trying out his powers…but he was more than a little disinclined to the idea of his brother going in without him.

"Team One is standing by in the entry bay." Storm reported, typing in a fast code on the keyboard she manned as the second 'team' crowded around the window to gaze into the Danger Room.

"The suit's status monitoring is on-line." Hank added, bringing up several different screens. "Heart beat, respiration and nervous system functions are normal."

Logan glanced at the window, putting in a code on the keyboard. "Roger. Ready to load training program…"

__

Team One: Cyclops, Flare, Iceman, Shadowcat and Minamoto Kouji

Kouji picked at the skintight black outfit in annoyance. "Do we _have _to wear these things?"

"It monitors your heartbeat and other vitals." Scoot shrugged, adjusting the visor over his eyes. "It's how the Professor and the others can tell if something goes wrong."

Kouji raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said there'd be no danger."

"With our kind of powers, anything can happen." Takuya grinned, glancing at Bobby Drake. "Right, roomy?"

"No duh." The blonde rolled his eyes in a joking matter, stretching his arms.

Scott glanced back as the light above the door turned yellow. "Okay everybody. Quick check: Flare, Iceman, Shadowcat…everybody ready?"

"Ready!" the three reported in a chorus.

Kouji's eyebrow raised slightly higher. "What the hell?"

"Oh yeah." Takuya rubbed his head sheepishly. "When we're in the Danger Room, everybody's got another name…"

"Why? Just to be cool?"

"It's to get used to it." Kitty nodded, jumping in. "When we're out dressed like this, we can't just be calling each other by the same names…That'd give the Institute away."

"Besides, these names suit us better." Bobby grinned, pointing to himself. "You could almost say they're our real names, deep down."

Kouji looked about to say something, but the light above the door suddenly turned green with a loud shriek, just before the doors slid open. "And here we go!" Takuya sparked eagerly, pulling the lighter out of his pocket and somewhat dragging Kouji by the arm into the room.

A hologram had been activated so that the room looked like an abandoned construction site. Well, except for the hovering probes that were flying everywhere, scanning with bright red beams and firing what seamed to be paintballs.

"You get hit, you're dead." Scott said simply. "Think of it as a game. And we're here to play rough."

As though for an example, he opened the visor over his eyes and shot out a bright red beam at the nearest probe, bursting the silver casing and sending it spiraling to the ground.

"You better jump in fast, buddy." Takuya grinned, taking off with Bobby through the twists and turns. The blonde was freezing everything that came along.

Kouji paused and turned at a sudden pressure on his arm. He turned to find Kitty… Shadowcat…whatever…grabbing on to him. He glared at her, until he realized that several bright red paintballs had just gone straight through them both.

"You gotta be careful!" The girl insisted, pulling him through a near-by wall. "After all, we're here to test you out!"

She released his arm and disappeared, this time jumping up to pull herself to a second 'level'. Kouji watched her disappear with mild interest, then started to make his way down the tiny, thin hall.

"'Test' me, huh?" He smirked a bit, feeling the familiar heat as he drew small beads of shining light from the hologram masking the wall. "I'll give 'em something to test…"

One of the hovering paintball-bots appeared, focusing its beam on him. The light in his hand automatically curved around and solidified, becoming a small ball of its own seconds before he threw it. It collided with the 'bot and burst into a blaze of light, leaving a harsh shell to fall to the ground.

…

"That's some explosion." Evan, a dark-skinned boy with dyed blonde hair, whistled as he pressed his hands against the glass.

"No kiddin'." Kurt, now without his hologram, twitched his ears in interest as his tail swished back and forth. There was a second wave as another 'bot exploded with a flash of light.

Rouge 'hm'ed to herself, brushing back the white bangs from her dark eyes. The long-haired boy seamed to be…almost enjoying himself. At least, that's what she hoped that smirk read as he swept through several tentacles with a sharpened version of his initial attack.

She turned slightly and looked at the second twin, Kouichi, whose eyes were trained on his brother with a kind of awe. "So, are yeh able to do stuff like 'im?"

The short-haired boy was startled at her voice, but dropped his eyes down shyly as the simulation began to wind down. "I guess…you could say…" He shrugged shyly, turning back to the window to watch his brother reappear from the fading hologram. "…Something like that."

__

Team Two: Jean Grey, Rouge, Nightcrawler, Spike and Kimura Kouichi

The second team's simulation was a jungle mod, the holograms and platforms creating mountains and living vines. The red paint balls flew around them every few moments, generally being defended away by Jean's force fields and Spike's stone…well, spikes.

Kurt…Nightcrawler…had Kouichi by one wrist and Rouge by the (well-covered) other, helping them out of the way by Bamph'ing whenever it got out of hand. Rouge's powers weren't of much use here, as the only mutants she could 'borrow' powers from were her own team.

"Man, this bites." The blue-furred mutant muttered in annoyance, dodging another wave of 'bots by ducking behind an extra-large tree. "Vhat are we supposed to do?"

Rouge rolled her eyes as they bamph'ed again, this time to relatively sheltered, temporarily peaceful clearing. She glanced in Kouichi's direction as the Japanese boy brushed himself off anxiously. "Ain't we supposed to be figurin' what _you_ can do?"

Kouichi jumped slightly, startled, then glanced off to one side awkwardly. "I…I…"

Kurt cocked his head. "Vhat is it? Are you scared?" He grinned widely. "It's just a simulation, you know. You can veally get hurt."

The new student shifted slightly, making Rouge think he was hiding something, but before anyone could say anything more, two bots suddenly appeared on their left and right sides, scanning the clearing with their bright red beams.

"Bamph us, Blue!" Rouge exclaimed, gripping Kurt's wrist perhaps a bit too tightly with her glove.

"Vhere!" Kurt insisted, snapping his head around as the tentacles reared up from the remaining two sides.

Kouichi took several steps back, backing them under the dark shade of the nearest tree as the paintball guns lowered to aim at them. He closed his eyes tightly and braced himself as five guns fired at once…

The red paint balls splattered against a thin wall of black and slid harmlessly to the ground.

…

Bobby blinked stupidly, pressed against the glass with the others. "What did he do?"

"Beats me." Takuya shrugged.

Scott turned to Kouji, who had been expertly hiding his nervousness since the simulation had begun. The other twin was wearing a very small smirk. "Do you know what's up with that?"

Dark blue eyes turned to him coldly. "They're standing in the shade."

"So?" Kitty blinked.

"It makes a thin covering when hardened around the edges." He turned back as Kurt bamph'ed the trio back with the rest of the group. "Just hard enough to block those stupid paint balls."

Hank frowned slightly, gazing up at the screen read-outs thoughtfully. "Well… _That's_ interesting."

"Something on your mind, Hank?" The Professor asked softly, wheeling over to look over the blue mutant's shoulder.

"Well…It's just something in the read-outs from Kouichi's suit." Beast tapped the upper-left-hand screen in example. "His breathing and heartbeat quickened right here…"

"Nothing unusual, given the situation." The Professor nodded. "After all, he'd just activated his power for the first time in this simulation."

"True. But his brother's stats never changed this drastically while using his power." Hank scratched his fuzzy chin contemplatively. "But here's the clincher, Charles… These read-outs are of the two minutes directly _after_ Kouichi's power was activated, and remained for several minutes after it was _de_activated.

Professor X furled his brow slightly with a small frown. "I don't quite understand."

"To be honest…" Hank shook his head, clearing out the screens as the simulation ended. "It's a bit like…I dunno, Charles, like he was scared or something. Just for about five minutes there…like he panicked…"

He shrugged again, this time with a smile. "I guess it's just nerves. Since nothing else happened, it's really nothing to worry about…"

**__**

TBC…

Gah…Sucky ending. I hate that.

Kansai - The southern region of Japan, stretching down from Osaka and (I think) Yokohama. The accent is similar to the Southern U.S., though it also has several different words than Tokyo-style Japanese. It's common for some characters to have Kansai accents, such as Kero from _Card Captor Sakura_, and Sumiyoshi from _Excel Saga_, so it's not unusual for most people to know both 'dialects'. However, Kouji (in this story) is one of those who has a hard time picking up differences in language, so the Kansai accent annoys him.

Kouichi and Kouji will have their 'mutant nicknames' by the next chapter, don't you worry. I just felt like holding it out for a little while. From the looks of things, this particular story will be about four or five chapters long.


	3. Yin and Yang

As a note for people who've asked - Yes, Logan knowing Japanese is relatively cannon. You see, he's got a 'girlfriend/acquaintance' who is from Japan. (Lady Deathstrike… They didn't know each other in the movie, but in the comics they had a history.) Also, it's said by the creators that in Logan's mysterious past, he was a failed samurai. So it makes sense for him to know Japanese.

Before I get into this, here's a little note on the grade levels for this fic:

Scott - Senior

Fred (Blob) and Jean - Juniors

Kitty, Kurt, Lance (Avalanche), Takuya, Kouji, Kouichi and Rouge - Sophomores

Evan, Bobby, and Todd (Toad) - Freshmen

As a note: This chapter is about a week after the Danger Room simulation.

**__**

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or X-Men Evolution. So sue me. No wait…don't.

****

The X Evolution

Chapter 3: Yin and Yang

"Look out!"

"Watch the corner!"

"Dammit, Summers! If Ah survive this, yer DEAD! Yeh hear me? _DEAD_!"

Gripping the handle of the door for dear life, Kouji was rather apt to agree with Rouge's frantic scream there at the end. Whoever had given Scott his license needed to be checked for intoxication on the job. The teen seamed to be trying to take every turn possible at fifty miles an hour, racing red lights, and playing chicken with large trucks.

At the moment, the passengers inside the car were cursing their lot at not drawing the 'short' straw like Kitty and Evan, thus earning themselves a complementary 'Bamph' to school from Kurt.

Though they were all thoroughly belted in, it didn't stop them from grabbing desperately onto anything they could get their hands on. Jean was riding shotgun in the red convertible, using one hand to hold her bangs out of her face and the other to grip the door handle desperately. Kouji, on the far right side of the back seat, had both hands latched on his door, his feet looped firmly behind the seat supports beneath him to hold balance. Bobby was on the other side in a very similar position, occasionally shouting a desperate warning on one of the wild curves. Rouge, next to Bobby, had her hand buried up to the first knuckle in the upholstery of the chair. She was sharing a seat belt with Takuya, who was almost surgically attached to the back of Jean's chair. Kouichi, on the other hand, was mostly affixed to Kouji's left arm, his eye lids squeezed together tightly. Kouji was loosing the feeling in those fingertips, but as that meant his brother hadn't fallen out yet, he was fine.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO _STOP_ AT THE RED LIGHTS!"

Ten hectic minutes later, the red convertible screeched into the parking lot of the high school. Scott drove up to the front of the school, sliding to a stop and grinning broadly. "Well. Here we are."

"Finally…" Bobby whimpered, crawling out of the back seat. Rouge and Takuya followed him, as Jean staggered out of the front seat. They were all rocking back and forth haphazardly as they walked, out of breath and ever so slightly hoarse.

Kouji hissed through his teeth as he opened the door next to him, undoing the seat belt as he did. He looked over at Kouichi, who was sitting up a bit blurrily, disoriented.

"Nii-san." He said softly, catching his attention. "You okay?"

Kouichi shook his head, trying to realign his senses. "I'm fine. Jut a little…unbalanced."

"Better get a move on, you two." Scott turned back in his seat, thumbing towards the school. "You need to check in at the main office some time before first period."

"Yeah, yeah." Kouji muttered in annoyance, taking his brother by the arm to help him out of the red chrome vehicle of death. Scott zoomed away towards his assigned parking spot.

It took a moment for Kouji to steady himself, and Kouichi a few minutes longer than that, but eventually they were both a bit more oriented and headed for the main office.

Kouichi sighed, rubbing his temples in a somewhat pained manner. Kouji frowned, recognizing the strange vibe that practically radiated from his twin's expression. He put a hand on Kouichi's shoulder, gently, but it still caused his brother to jump. "Nii-san, what's wrong?"

Kouichi smiled at him, but it was fake and troubled. "Nothing. Just a little…shaken up, that's all."

Kouji's frown deepened almost accusingly. "That's not it." He snapped, making his brother wince slightly. "There's something else you're not telling me."

"Kouji…" the slightly elder of the two sighed, looking away from his brother guiltily. "I'm sorry…But it's nothing, really. I just had a…weird dream last night."

Kouji sighed, shaking his head and letting go of his shoulder. Every now and then, Kouichi was the victim of rather fearsome nightmares, most often when something was weighing on his min. It bothered them both, but as Kouichi refused to describe them, there was nothing Kouji could do about it.

"All right, then." Kouji sighed, opening the door to the office. "Let's get this over with…"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

When Lance Alders, a.k.a. Avalanche, was bored, it was usually bad news for somebody. Usually, the 'somebodies' were students of Xavier Institute, but he wasn't above tormenting the so-called 'normal' students when ever the mood struck him.

At the moment, he was crouched in a small space between two of the school buildings, known generally as 'Smoker's Ally', since it was the best place to sneak off to if you needed a lightly. Lance wasn't smoking…he may have been a delinquent, but he wasn't stupid…though he was throwing small pebbles at the passerby. It was almost a game, and no one had noticed him yet.

He tossed his brown hair out of dark eyes, blowing up his bangs and taking aim at a stupid-looking football jock who was showing off to his girlfriend. There was a noise like rushing wind, following by a blue-gray streak before his eyes, and quite suddenly a certain silver-haired boy was leaning down to look him in the eye. "Hey Lance. What'cha doin'?"

Lance growled, straitening as he glared at Pietro Maximoff. "What's it to you?"

"Woah, woah, chill." Pietro, also known as Quicksilver, always spoke at an annoying fast rate emphasize his hyper-fast metabolism. "Lemme guess: bored, right? You always get testy when you're bored."

Before Lance could respond with a typically biting comment, he was cut off by a loud, semi-deep voice accompanying a noise vaguely akin to stampeding rhinos. "Hey guys, wait for us!"

Fred Dukes, a.k.a. 'the Blob' was pounding his gargantuan way up the side walk, leaving several shallow craters as he did. Along side him, hopping along on all fours, was Toad Tolanski, most often called 'Toad', his long-fingered green limbs gripping the walls and ground as he went.

Fred stormed up to them, coming to a stop and leaning over to catch his breath. "No fair…leavin' us behind…Pietro…"

"Yeah, Speedy." Toad grumbled, dropping back to fan himself with one hand.

"Hey, you gonna run with me, you gotta keep up." Pietro grinned almost crazily.

Lance rolled his eyes, glancing at the silver-haired mutant in annoyance. "So what do you want? You're as bored as I am."

"Maybe. But there's something new up." Pietro rattled off.

"Like what?" Lance glared at Fred, who was still trying to catch his breath.

"Like a couple'a new X-jerks."

_That_ got Lance's attention. New mutants at the Xavier place? Pietro said 'a couple'. So, more than one?

"How many?"

"Two of 'em. And here's a kicker." Pietro pulled out a granola bar from his pocket and nearly swallowed it whole. "They're twins. You can tell it in their faces."

"What, identical?"

"Duh."

Lance scowled, but he was thinking. Twin mutants, huh? Interesting, very interesting…

"So what'cha think?" Toad asked, eyeing a fly that was hovering not far away. "You wanna mess with 'em."

"First of all…" Lance waited until Toad's mutated tongue snapped out to snatch up the 'snack', then he grabbed it in mid-air. "Don't ever do that in front of me again, it's disgusting."

"Sah-wee." Toad mumbled. Lance released the slimy appendage, causing Toad to fall over backwards.

Lance tossed his hair out of his face, smirking as he turned and placed his hands in the pockets of his coat. "Now then. Whattya say we go give the newbies a decent welcome?"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

It was lunchtime. Usually, this should be relatively uneventful.

Kouji and Kouichi were sitting outside, in the back of the school, sharing a bench with Takuya and Bobby. Iceman had your standard sandwich brown-bag, while the other three were enjoying something more to their group cultural taste…bento boxes, with rice, vegetables, some sort of meat and small wooden chopsticks from a local Chinese restaurant. Storm had thankfully prepared and chilled them the night before. None of them were willing to try the hot lunch today, as the electric blue color was kind of a turn off.

"So, how'd it go, you two?" Bobby asked with his mouth full.

Kouji glared slightly over his chopsticks. "How'd what go?"

"You know. 'First day of school' and all that." Takuya winked with a slight smirk. "I hear you're already catching the girls' eyes."

Kouji growled a little under his breath like an angry wolf. Both he and Kouichi had attracted an unusual number of the feminine population upon arriving at their first class. Actually, most of them had flocked around Kouji, the few mothering types drawn to Kouichi's gentle nature.

Kouichi smiled very softly. "They were…very nice."

"They were annoying." Kouji sniffed. Kouichi hid small giggles behind his hand. His twin glared at him sourly.

"We should all have such annoyances." Bobby sighed, shaking his head in dismay. "What a waste…"

Before Kouji could lash out, a loud voice suddenly interrupted them. "Well, look it what we have here."

Though the twins simply glanced up, Takuya and Bobby were almost instantly rigid. They had been addressed by a tall boy with longish brown hair and darkish tanned skin, dressed in very earthy tones. Standing behind him was a huge mountain of a blonde boy, tubby arms crossed over an even tubbier test. On the left of the brown-haired boy was a silver-haired young man, dressed in blue, who looked perpetually windblown. On the other side was a boy crouched low to the ground, whose skin and hair held a vaguely greenish tint.

"So, there're the new kids, huh?" The first boy smirked. "Don't look like much."

"Shove it, Lance!" Takuya snapped.

"Yeah, get lost, Alders." Bobby glared at the new comers fiercely.

"Oooh, hostile." the silver haired boy spoke very, very quickly, as though on 'fast forward'. "Gettin' a bit of an attitude there, Popsicle Stick."

Kouji narrowed his eyes at the four. "Who're these losers?"

"Losers!" The huge one exclaimed, apparently deeply offended.

"They call themselves 'the Brotherhood of Mutants'." Bobby muttered calmly, standing "They're a bunch of juvenile delinquents."

"Basically, they're the Institute's dropouts." Takuya smirked. "Couldn't handle it."

Lance growled low in his throat. "Handle this, Sparky." He snapped, gripping his hand into a fist.

The ground began to shake beneath them, accompanied by a low rumbling noise. Kouji leapt up unsteadily. "What the…?"

"Earthquake!" Kouichi gasped, barely keeping his place and catching his brother haphazardly as he fell over.

"Dammit, Alders!" Takuya shouted, keeping his balance just enough to pull out his lighter, summoning up a small ball of fire. An unsteady pitch lit Lance's jacket aflame. The long-haired brunette cried out, breaking his stance quickly to douse it. The moment he unclenched his fists, the tremors stopped.

Bobby regained his center of balance, glancing back at the twins. "You two okay?"

"Oh sure, peachy." Kouji grumbled sarcastically. When he'd fallen, he'd landed on his brother, knocking him down from the bench and leaving them both in the same heap on the ground they were recovering from now.

Takuya looked about to speak, but he was suddenly knocked flat by a pale blue blur. "Can ya keep up, Kanbara?" Pietro's voiced laughed out from it. He lashed out again, and from the sudden lack of breath one could only assume Takuya had been kicked in the stomach. "Can't hit me if ya can't see me!"

Bobby spun around, aiming a shot of ice just in front of the speedster. Pietro paused only a second to leap over it, then went back to running rings around them full-speed. "Dammit." Bobby hissed, firing more ice.

"Hey Drake." The blonde barely had time to turn before he was nailed in the face by a blob of disgusting, gooey, sticky green slime.

Toad grinned, wiping a bit of 'Sticky-Spit' from his lip. "Ah…feels good to get that off my chest."

"Gross…" Kouichi groaned, and it looked like Bobby shared his sympathies.

The blur that was 'Quicksilver' changed his course, running fast loops around the still-grounded twins. "What's a'matter, newbies? Can'tcha handle it?"

"They look about ready to run home to mommy." Bobby laughed.

Kouji growled low in his throat, then noticed the shaded area extending from the school building…the one most of the Brotherhood was standing in.

"Kouichi." He hissed, catching his brother's attention. A glance between them and a nod to the shade was all it took to communicate the plan. Momentarily, Kouji thanked whatever god was up there for their connection as twins.

Kouichi looked a bit concerned, his face reading an uncertain, "Are you sure?"

Kouji nodded quietly, conveying his own message. "Don't worry. It's a small trick. Everything will be fine." With that soft note, he pulled his hands close, gathering sunlight between them.

Pietro smirked, looking down at the two kids in the center of his tight circle. "Shows ya not to mess with us, huh?"

Kouji snapped his head up, standing suddenly to place himself firmly in the speed demon's way. Pietro noticed the challenge and picked up the pace. "So that's how you want it? Ha! I'll knock you flat, hot shot!"

A smirked crawled over Kouji's face. Just as the blur reached him, he opened his hands and engulfed the delinquent in a huge blast of light.

It cleared in an instant, leaving Pietro knocked flat on the ground, clutching his face. "Argh! My eyes! My eyes!"

"Uh-oh." Toad commented. "Looks like they got Speedy."

Lance scowled, gripping his fists again. "I'll get 'em." He growled, stepping forward…

And discovering, to his shock and horror, that some kind of pressure on his whole body was holding him firmly in one place. "What the…?"

Toad and Fred seamed to be suffering from a similar ailment. "Hey hey! I'm stuck! I'm stuck!" Toad exclaimed, trying to jump but latched firmly to the ground.

Blob, the Immovable Blob, was held firmly in place. "I can't move either!"

Lance snapped his head up fiercely. The other twin, the quiet one, had knelt down and placed his hand on the shadow the building cast over them. His eyes had the slightly glazed-over, meditative look some mutants got as they used their powers.

"Dammit!" Lance shouted, pulling at his feet and arms as the darkness looped over them, holding him in place. "What the hell did you do, bastard?"

Takuya burst out laughing. "Sa-weet, Kimura!" He exclaimed, patting Kouichi on the back. "How long can you keep that up?"

"It won't last after I move." Kouichi whispered softly, still in a somewhat mild trance.

"No problem." Bobby grinned, turning from where he had covered Pietro in a thin layer of ice. "I'll take it from here."

He quickly iced over the remaining Brotherhood members, holding them in place even as Kouichi stood and that shadows slipped away. Takuya was bent over with laughter now, and even Kouji looked amused, though Kouichi still seamed to be halfway sleepwalking. A loud bell rang over the grounds, signaling the end of the period.

"…Is it okay to leave them there?" Kouichi asked softly as the four headed for their next class.

"Sure." Takuya grinned broadly. "They'll defrost in about ten minutes. This was just teaching them not to mess with us."

And back in the fading shade, still covered in ice, Lance Alders growled softly deep in his throat.

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

It was 5:37 exactly when Ororo came to get the twins. They had previously been in the living room, hanging out with Takuya, Bobby, Evan, Kurt and Kitty. Evan and Takuya had been playing a rowdy fighting videogame, as Bobby and Kurt cheered in the background and Kitty tried to get Kouichi interested in the fashion magazine she was reading. When Ororo appeared suddenly at the top of the stairs, dressed in her combat uniform, the twins were the only two who didn't know what was going on.

Without changing, they were quietly ushered into the control center of the Danger Room, where Professor X was working on one of the data banks. Jean, Scott and Logan were there as well, all in their standard uniforms.

"Ah, boys." The Professor smiled warmly, turning to face them. "Come on in, don't be shy."

The two shuffled in somewhat cautiously, the doors closing behind them. Kouichi glanced around nervously. "Um…Professor, we're not even…"

"Don't worry." Jean flashed them a dazzling smile. "We're not here for a simulation. We've got something to show you two."

"Something like what?" Kouji asked suspiciously.

Once again, the X-men smiled at each other calmly as Scott pressed one of the buttons on a smaller control panel. Across the room a machine whirred and hummed as a small metallic compartment opened, revealing a pair of glossy new suits on display on basic mannequins, as though they had just been rolled off the proverbial presses.

"We'd like to make sure the fit before we get you into active duty." Scott grinned cockily, and quickly ushered the boys into the men's changing room.

The suits were unique, as Takuya and the others had told them, but they were also identical. The looked somewhat like their old school uniforms, only skin-tight, with long sleeves and high collars. Kouichi's was black, with a single stripe running vertically down the front as though hiding a zipper and a circled X on each shoulder, all done in about 40 percent tone gray. Kouji's had the same pattern, only reversed, with the tone gray as a base and the black in the lining.

As they stepped somewhat hesitantly back into the control room, they were greeted with a small chorus of cheers. Kouichi in particular flushed hotly as they looked around at the gathered Institute students. Takuya and Bobby were whistling in celebration, as several of the others hooted and clapped.

Professor X wheeled forward, a pleasant smile on his face. "Well." He chuckled softly, lacing his fingers thoughtfully. "I see they fit just fine."

Kouji tested the outfit experimentally, glancing at Kouichi. His brother smiled at him, looking embarrassed, but content.

"All that is left is to find another name for the both of you." The Professor nodded softly, gazing over steepled fingers. "We've discussed it several times, and we think we've settled on a good choice…"

"How do Yin and Yang sound?" Logan mumbled softly, glancing at Kouji. "Huh, flashbulb?"

Kouji wrinkled his nose slightly at Logan's nickname for him, but Kouichi laughed softly and smiled at his brother. "I like it." He nodded warmly. "What do you think, Kouji?"

The long-haired boy 'hm'ed softly, shaking his head, then grinned. "Huh…Sounds good to me."

**__**

TBC…

I have a friend who drives like Scott did here. I was never so eager to have my own license that after going with her on an 'errand' to drop off her little sister.

Oh, and I left out the 'Evil' in the Brotherhood of Mutants, just because it seams to defeat their purpose. After all, they really think mutants DESERVE to be superior, right?

And if you notice, the concept of Yin and Yang is a recurring theme with me. The subject itself fascinates me, and I love the symbolism between the twins in particular. So expect it to crop up a lot over the course of my stories.


	4. Darkness

**__**

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or X-Men Evolution. So sue me. No wait…don't.

****

The X Evolution

Chapter 4: Darkness

"Dammit." Lance growled, throwing himself down on the couch. He folded his hands behind his head and blew his bangs up, scowling. "Damn those stupid X-jerks…"

Toad hopped through the front door…which was barely hanging on as it was…and leapt up to rest on the steps as Blob sunk into the huge arm chair on the other side of their 'living room'. "Yeah." Groaned the green-skinned mutant. "I can't believe they whooped us again."

"So what?" Pietro whipped in, causing papers and everything not nailed down to go flying. "Sulking's not going to do nothin'. We gotta figure out a way to beat 'em."

"Espessially those new freaks." Blob mumbled, pulling out a huge bag of potato chips and gobbling them by humongous handfuls.

"Yeah. Those identical creeps." Lance growled, sitting up. "One way or another, we've gotta think of some way to…"

Something sharp and hot suddenly flashed past him, slicing off some of his long hair and leaving a deep gash in the tattered couch behind him. The Brotherhood was instantly on alert. "What the hell…?"

There was a soft flutter of wings from somewhere in the kitchen. "If that's the way you feel about the X-men, why don't do something?" A female voice echoed from the same direction, low, deep and haunting.

The boys spun around as a blue-skinned female mutant, several years older than any of them, stepped out of the kitchen. She wore a simple-but-elegant white outfit, her straight red hair a stark contrast to blue scaled skin and glowing yellow eyes. Long, manicured, red nails spread out from her finger tips, more like claws than anything else.

"Mystique!" Toad shrieked, and tumbled head-over-heels down the stairs.

"Indeed." The blue-skinned mutant came forward, glancing around her with a sniff. "I see you've serious neglected on your housekeeping, boys."

Lance growled softly, but didn't say anything. After all, Mystique was the one paying their rent, after all. The house was technically hers. But the strings that went with the deal were often nothing more than a pain in the neck…

"So what do you want?" Pietro asked, bristling all over. "You got another job for us?"

"Auw, do we hafta?" Blob groaned, licking his fingers to get the salt off the ends.

"If you want to keep trashing _my_ home, you do." Mystique growled harshly, and Blob recoiled a bit. The female mutant made her way between each boy in a very coy manner. "And yes, I do have an…assignment, for you. But don't worry. I'm sure you'll find it…enjoyable."

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Kouichi sat, his legs folded underneath him, on a pillow in the Institute's glass covered roof-porch. The sun was setting to his left, but his eyes were focused on the dark-skinned woman sitting cross-legged in front of him.

Storm smiled softly. "There's no reason to be tense." Her gentle voice slid around him warmly. "I just want to give you a little time alone…to work on your own abilities, without any distractions."

Kouichi nodded softly in understanding. Storm smiled a bit wider and continued. "All right, then…Close your eyes and focus on your energy."

Navy blue eyes slid closed, and his breathing soon softened to the slow, steady rhythm of mediation. Storm had to allow herself a grin…he must have been used to this, no doubt from one of the martial arts classes that were so popular in Japan.

"Good…" She let out her own breath, falling into a paced rhythm as well. She was used to meditation as well, having been taught by the leaders of the African village she'd lived in as a child. "Now…concentrate on the energy around you, surrounding you. The energy that corresponds with what you're feeling inside of you now. Try to pull it in."

Her sky blue eyes remained open to watch. The shadows, cast by the sunset, were starting to get larger…no…some of them were moving, snaking their way ever closer to the boy in front of her.

"That's it…" she smiled. "Now…I need you to hold your hands out, palms inward…keep you eyes closed. That's it. Now, focus your energy to the point between your palms…"

The shadows inched forward evermore as a small speck of black appeared in the air between his hands. Bit by tiny bit, some small 'sparks' drifted off the shadows to join it, until the ball of anti-light was roughly the size of a golf ball.

Storm's smile widened. "Very good, Kouichi!" she applauded softly. "Very, very good! Go ahead, open your eyes."

Kouichi's eyes fluttered open with the embarrassed smile of one flattered by the praise of a teacher. But the moment he got sight of the pulsating darkness within his grasp, his joyful expression changed instantly to one of…Ororo couldn't believe it, but it was true…pure terror. A strangled gasp fell from his lips as he snapped his hands to his chest and jumped back, the ball of darkness vanishing as though someone had flipped a switch.

Storm's senses, sharpened by several life-threatening battles and rigorous training during her many years as an X-man, suddenly flew into high alert, but she sedated them with the realization that there was no actual danger. However, the boy was no comforted, backed away and staring in horror at the spot the darkness had been, as though expecting something to appear and attack.

Ororo sighed, calming herself, and stood, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right." she sighed. "…Go on down for dinner. I'll clean up in here."

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

"Kouichi, one moment please."

The twins turned back, slightly surprised at being addressed. It was the Professor who had spoken, being pushed towards them by Scott, with Jean hovering just nearby.

"Yes, Professor?" Kouichi responded softly, giving a slight bow to the older man.

"I'd like to speak with you a moment…" The man glanced at Kouji's tense expression and chuckled slightly. "Yes, Kouji, you can come as well. It might be…for the best."

The two teachers lead them to the Professor's office, just down the hall. It was a nice large room with a wide window shining bright sunlight throughout, illuminating a desk and several chairs, which the twins were directed to sit in. The Professor then took over his own controls, maneuvering his wheelchair to face the older of the boys.

"Kouichi." he sighed. "We've been rather concerned with your…development here. It's true that your power is unique and you have great potential with it, yet you continue to hold yourself back."

Kouichi shifted, staring at the floor. "I'm…sorry."

"There's no reason to be sorry." the Professor moved closer. "We are simply concerned as to _why_ you are holding yourself back so very much. We…that is to say, some of your teachers…had a hunch that it might have something to do with something in your past…"

Kouichi frowned a little and bit his lip. Kouji glared slightly, but Professor X didn't notice.

"With your…permission." He sighed, placing his fingertips against the sides of Kouichi's head. "I'd like to see for myself."

Kouichi blinked, but nodded. The Professor smiled at him warmly. "Just relax." He soothed, closing his eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you…"

__

He was sitting in his brother's bedroom, the busy nighttime lights of Tokyo blazing outside the window. He watched in amazement as the other boy tossed a ball of light skillfully from one hand to the other. "Wow, Kouji!" he gasped. "That's amazing!"

"Just gotta keep practicing." Kouji grinned in a way he only would when they were alone together, making the ball vanish. "Whenever Dad and Satome-san go out, I try it, and it gets bigger every time."

A low ringing noise floated up from the hall. His brother sighed, pushing to his feet. "Phone. I'll be right back."

He disappeared out the door, leaving his brother to his thoughts. He lifted his hand into the light of the lamp, creating a shadow, and curved that shadow up to run along the wall.

A thought suddenly struck him…Maybe he could try.

He smiled secretly to himself, bringing his hands in front of him the way he'd seen Kouji do. He focused intently, sharpening his eyes to the point directly between his hands as the small 'blob' of darkness appeared, grew and shaped itself, forming a tiny ball about the size of a marble.

His smiled broadened, heart thumping in excitement…wait until Kouji saw this!…as the ball grew slowly larger, and larger, even bigger than Kouji's had been.

It was now the size of a softball…and it WASN'T STOPPING!

He gasped and tried to retract his power, but it wouldn't listen, growing still bigger. His hands shook, but he was afraid to drop it, not knowing what a ball of solid darkness would do. Terrified, it grew to the size of a soccer ball before he even thought of calling for help…The pressure increased, higher and higher, tentacles of darkness spiraling around him…He screamed…

The Professor was suddenly yanked forcibly from the memory with a physical shock. Kouji, seeing his brother's face contorted with fear, had raced forward and yanked the man's hands away, glaring poison daggers.

"Professor!" Jean exclaimed, racing over.

"Are you all right?" Scott gasped, on her heels, before glaring at Kouji. "What do you think you were doing?"

Kouji met his glare without even blinking, gripping his rather confused brother's hand protectively.

"It's all right." Xavier sighed, rubbing his temples to relieve his headache. "No one has been hurt…today."

He turned his wheelchair back slightly to look at the boys tiredly. "I…apologize. You may go."

Kouji stood first, pulling Kouichi up by the arm and leading the slightly older twin out the door. Scott continued to glare at him behind his shades as they left the room.

Jean, on the other hand, turned her attention back to Xavier. "Professor, what is it?" she asked gently. "What happened?"

Xavier sighed again, closing his eyes. For a moment there was silence, then he finally spoke. "The boys have had their powers for…almost three months, before we found them." He whispered. "However, what our records did not show was that, about one month into that time…Kouichi lost control…"

Scott frowned slightly. "Lost control?"

The Professor shook his head as though trying to get water out of his ears. "They were…practicing." He sighed. "And somehow, his powers got terribly….terribly out of hand."

"What happened?" Jean asked breathlessly.

"I…I don't know." Xavier sighed. "But it's something that…terrifies him, even now…"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

"Nii-san?" Kouji whispered, sitting on his brother's bed. Kouichi had curled himself up against the headboard, pulling his knees in close and burying his eyes in them. "Nii-san? Are all right?"

Shyly, cautiously, his brother's eyes turned towards him with a small, fake smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"No you're not." Kouji said bluntly, frowning as he pulled himself closer to his brother so that they were touching. Kouichi winced slightly and pulled away just a bit… his average reaction when he was feeling guilty. "It's that thing Xavier did to you, isn't it? That's what's wrong. He caused it."

"No…Kouji, it's not the Professor's fault." Kouichi turned his head slightly to look at him sadly. "It's…mine."

Kouji's frown deepened. "What're you talking about now?"

His brother looked at him guiltily a moment, then uncurled one of his hands and traced his fingers along a thin, pale, recently-healed scar that ran under Kouji's right eye. Almost instantly, Kouji's hand snapped up to grab his brother by the wrist, locking eyes with a serious glare.

"That. Wasn't. Your fault." He spelled out, slowly and seriously, gripping his brother's arm tightly. "You didn't to anything. It wasn't you. It's not your fault, and it never was."

Kouichi winced, and for a moment Kouji felt guilty about his harsh tone. But before either of them could react or apologize further, the light suddenly started flashing red, accompanied by incessant, repetitive alarms. The Professor's voice sudden echoed through the minds of every person on the grounds at once.

_"X-Men! Report to the Danger Room Immediately! This is not a drill!"_

"Hey, guys!" A familiar voice shouted, pounding the door just before Takuya burst in. "You heard the Professor! Let's get going!"

"Okay, okay!" Kouji growled, jumping off the bed and helping Kouichi up by the hand. Takuya and Bobby raced down the hall ahead of them, Kurt _BAMPH' ing_ along the moment he was outside his door, while Kitty phased through walls along the way.

Kouichi gave his brother's hand a worried squeeze. Kouji glanced back at him and paused a moment, putting a hand on his shoulder. There was a moment of wordless conversation between them, then they hurried off to find out what the Professor wanted.

**__**

TBC…

Heh heh. Sorry that it's a bit shorter than the others, but I needed to set it up like that to make the next chapter run smoother. And for all you people guessing that this story may be longer…well, you're half right. I'll tell you next chapter. Laterz.

Gemini Star


	5. Battle Confusion

Let me respond now to a lot of reviews I get from a particular group of people, concerning my take on Kouichi's personality: I don't doubt for a moment that he's got plenty of guts. He looked Cherubimon in the eye and (in Japanese, of course) called him a bastard, after all. But when he's with his friends, I think the poor kid's got a bit of an… inferiority complex. Actually, it's more like mild depression, but I get the vibe that he doesn't really think he's up to the other's level, so to speak, and is afraid of being alone. So when he's with friends he's very subdued and hesitant, because he's afraid of being rejected if he does something to offend someone. That's just my take on his personality, and if you don't like it…TOUGH. It's the way I know him, and it's the way I've always loved him.

I miss my ability to use question marks and exclamation points in the same sentence. How am I supposed to tell the readers that they're asking a large amount of panicky questions? T.T

**__**

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or X-Men Evolution. So sue me. No wait…don't.

****

The X Evolution

Chapter 5: Battle

Ten minutes later, the X-men as a whole had changed and reported to the Danger Room Command Center, where Xavier, Storm, Wolverine and Beast were waiting for them. "What's up, Professor?" Asked Scott the moment they entered.

The wheelchair-bound man turned to them, nodding seriously over steepled fingers. "There's a disturbance downtown. Mutant energies, several of them. Very active."

"The Brotherhood?" Jean asked automatically.

"Indeed."

Kouji glanced at Takuya, adjusting the tight cuffs of his 'uniform'. "I take in this happens often?"

"Pretty much."

Scott…that is, Cyclops…slammed one gloved hand into the other intensely. "All right then, let's go." He said, with a perfectly straight face. "We've gotta take care of them."

"Agreed." The Professor nodded. "Head out, and _be careful_. All of you."

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

The location the Brotherhood happened to be trashing today turned out to be a partially-completed four-story shopping mall, which currently consisted of two and three-quarters stories, a large crane, construction elevator, and a liberal amount of debris.

The X-Men entered the site tense, but vaguely scattered in groups of two or three, just in case. There was no sign of the Brotherhood, or indeed of really anything at all.

"Are we _sure_ there's something here?" Bobby asked, looking around.

"Quiet." Scott hissed.

Jean closed her eyes slowly, concentrating. "They're here, all right." She whispered softly. "I just can't tell…"

She cut off as the ground beneath their feet started to tumble and shake. Pieces of concrete broke free and fell, Evan and Bobby leaping back to dodge as Kitty deftly phased Rouge and herself through an extra-large piece.

A deep laughter echoed through the partial-ruins as the quake quieted. The gathered mutants snapped their heads up to find an all-too familiar bunch standing on the half-built second story above them. Blob, Avalanche, Toad, and Quicksilver, most in their 'specially-made' uniforms.

Avalanche was the one who had spoken, hands on his hips. "Well well, look who's here. Mystique's right, you are typical."

"Mystique?" Rouge growled, clutching her fists as Kurt's fur stood on end.

Logan stepped forward instead. "What's Mystique got to do with this?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Blob chortled, his huge stomach bouncing as he did. "All you gotta know is we're gonna flatten you creeps!"

As if to reiterate his terms, he launched himself from the second floor. The X-Men scattered, narrowly avoiding the huge crater left as the gigantic mutant landed. Behind him, the rest of the Brotherhood separated and scattered around the construction site in various ways and strategies.

"Everybody, split up!" Storm called, following after Avalanche to the second floor. "Flare, Rouge, follow me!"

"You've got it!" Scott called, and the group…split up. "Yin, Shadowcat, Spike! You need to go after Quicksilver! The rest of you take care of these guys!"

Half of the group stayed on the lower levels to deal with Blob and Toad, while the other half raced for the construction elevator. At the second floor, Flare and Rouge raced out with Yang right behind them, in spite of orders. Though Kouichi was hesitant as to whether or not to follow them, the remaining three did as they were asked and made their way back up to the third floor.

Avalanche met the group half-way up. "You think you losers can take me?"

"Yer the looser, earthquake!" Rouge snapped. "Whattya think yeh can do up here, huh? No ground!"

Avalanche just smirked. "That's what you think." He laughed, and opened his hands out flat.

To the group's general surprise, the ground under them began to shake. At least, they were surprised until Takuya happened to fall near a half-finished window and made an annoying discovery. "Crud! Guys, this place is built on a _hill_!"

"Now you tell us." Kouji hissed softly.

Lance had a wide, almost crazy grin on his face. "Now I've got you!" He laughed, increasing the seismic tremors around them. The only one who had any senses was Storm, and she was attempting to get a good lock on the boy without killing him, which was proving to be quite hard to do.

Takuya whipped his lighter from his pocket, producing his favorite ball of fire. Balancing as best he could, he reared back in a softball pitch aimed directly at Avalanche.

However, the punk was expecting that and jumped back, allowing only a fraction of a second of the tremor to break. "Ha! You think you can get me with that twice?"

Kouji sniffed slightly, reaching into a pocket attached to his belt as well. However, from his he produced a very useful little object for night time work, namely, a pen light. In the moment of semi-stillness, he clicked the bulb on and produced a beam of light into the darkness, drawing it almost instantly into his hand.

First, a ball formed there, like it had every time before. But with a flick of his wrist and a sudden grip, it shot out into a long, thin beam and became something much different…

"Hey, rock head!"

Avalanche turned slightly and barely had time to block as the white-hot light sword came down on him. He jumped back, then had to do it again as Kouji swung, marching him backwards with expert Kendo-learned skill.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" The seismic mutant exclaimed.

Kouji didn't answer him, his face twisted in concentration. "Storm…"

"I've got it!" Avalanche barely had time to notice that the African-American woman's eyes had begun to glow before he was lifted violently off his feet and into the air by a rush of high-speed winds.

"Argh…No way!" He exclaimed, pulling at the winds holding his arms, even though part of him knew it was useless.

Kouji grinned, opening his hand and loosing grip on the light sword. "Pathetic." He sniffed, and the group ran to help out downstairs once again.

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Meanwhile, Spike, Shadowcat and Yin were attempting to take down the ever-hyper Quicksilver.

"Can't catch me!" The speedster laughed, speeding past Evan's attempts to pin him with rock spikes and leaping easily over Kitty's attempts to phase up and grab him. "No way you're fast enough! Not a chance not a chance!"

Kouichi hissed softly, pulling himself to his feet. They weren't doing well, not at all. There was too much darkness, he couldn't take it all under his control at once, he'd kill himself. But he could…yes, it was the only way. Just…wait for it…

"What'sa matter?" Quicksilver taunted as he sped around. "Can't keep up? Ever the slow poke, Evan, you'll get…"

Quite suddenly, he tripped and hit the ground with a high-speed _thud!_ He lay there a moment, stunned, then pushed himself up and tried to stand, but found one leg held down by the ankle. He spun his head around. "No freakin' _way_!"

"Like, wow!" Kitty exclaimed, and Evan shared her sentiments.

The shadow had stretched out from the wall, forming a hand that reached out in a three-dimensional shape, grabbing Pietro by the ankle. Kouichi smirked slightly, his eyes only slightly glazed over, one hand stretched out as though he himself was holding the speed demon still.

Quicksilver growled. "D-Damn you! Let go, you freak!"

Kouichi didn't let go. He did, however, draw his hand off to the side. Pietro hit the ground again, on his back this time, being dragged across the floor and up a nearby unfinished wall. Soon he dangled a good five feet from the ground, the 3-D shadow holding him out an aloof.

"Awesome!" Evan gasped, a wide grin on his face.

"Like, wow." Kitty repeated, eyes wide.

Pietro struggled with the hand holding his leg, pulling at it. "Let go! Dammit, let go!"

"All right." Kouichi whispered softly, and gave his wrist a light toss.

With a cry, Pietro was suddenly loose and in mid-air. He went tumbling, head-over-heels, before landing upside down in a huge trash can full of cardboard boxes, wooden boards and other odds and ends.

"All right!" Spike cheered as Quicksilver disappeared into the rubble. "Dude, Yin, that was sweet!"

Kouichi smiled shakily, but it didn't last. His body was trembling from head to foot, arms shaking and knees growing weak as an all-too-familiar dizzying sensation closed in on his senses. Slowly but surely, his energy started to slip out of his body and into…

_No…Not again…_

Shadowcat noticed it first. "Hey…Yin, are you okay?"

The boy didn't answer her. He groaned painfully, wrapping his arms around himself and dropping to his knees with a painful _thud_ on hard concrete.

"Yin!" Kitty exclaimed, racing over to put both hands on his shoulders. "What's wrong? Are you, like, sick?"

"You're not hurt, are you?" Evan asked, racing over himself. "That creep Pietro, when I get my hands on him…"

The dark-haired boy cut him off with another loud groan, screwing up his face painfully. "G-Get away…"

"Huh?" Kitty jumped back, snapping her hands away as though expecting to be burned. The shadows around them began to move, licking their arms and legs like flames.

"Dude, what is your problem?" Evan exclaimed, trying to brush off the darkness.

"GET AWAY!" Kouichi shouted at the top of his lungs, startling them both again. "You have to get away, now! Go, _run_!"

"What's going on?" Kitty shrieked, leaping to her feet. "What happening? Yin!"

But before anyone could answer her, the Darkness exploded around them.

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Ground-level, things were starting to slow down, if only a bit. At least, this is what one naturally assumed after Mystique suddenly vanished (Rouge and Bobby currently inspecting the place to make sure she wasn't planning an ambush) and the Brotherhood disappeared long ago.

"Looks like they're taken care of." Cyclops grinned, turning to the others. "We should clear out before the police…"

He was cut off in mid-sentence by a sudden explosion from above. He snapped his head up as two figures came flying down from the third-floor outcrop, tumbling helplessly head-over-heels.

"Kitty!" Jean exclaimed.

"Evan!" Takuya shouted.

Storm's body tensed, her eyes changing to a glowing electric blue. The weather-controller stretched out her gloved hand so that it was flat-palmed towards the falling figures. The winds swirled from nowhere and plucked the pair from the air, setting them gently on their feet.

"You two okay?" Scott asked as the group raced up.

"Yeah…" Evan gulped, putting a hand over his heart. "Thanks, Auntie O."

Storm smiled and nodded at her nephew, but Logan frowned. "What happened, you two?" The Wolverine snapped sharply.

"Where's Kouichi?" Kouji demanded, his eyes narrowing sharply. "Wasn't he with you two?"

Kitty shook herself harshly, coming back to her senses before bursting out. "It was him! Koui…I mean, Yin! There's something wrong with him!"

"What?" Cyclops gasped, but was quickly shoved aside by a wide-eyed Yang.

"What do you mean, 'something's wrong with him'?" Kouji snapped. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"He's flipped!" Evan insisted, motioning with his hands and arms adamantly. "We ran Quicksilver off, then Yin started freakin' out, like he was having an attack or something! He started shouting at us, then he just blew us away!"

Kouji had gone strangely pale, spinning around as Jean calmed Spike and Shadowcat down so they could explain in a bit less panicked manner. Kouji took several steps back, craning his neck up to catch a vague glimpse of the swirling darkness staring its nexus over the edge of the unfinished floor.

"Not again…" He growled under his breath. "Dammit all, not _again_!"

"I see…" Storm nodded, listening to Kitty's much more relaxed version of the events. "Jean?"

"I know." The redhead opened her eyes slowly, looking concerned. "I can't get into his mind to calm him down, either. He's completely lost control."

"I could've told you that." Yang snapped, heading for the elevator.

"H-Hey, Kouji, wait up!" Takuya exclaimed, racing after him. "What're you doing?"

Kouji slammed his hand down on the 'up' button of the elevator. "I need to get up there." He hissed. "I'm the only one who can calm him down."

"Vat does dat mean?" Nightcrawler asked, coming up behind them in his slightly faster down-on-all-fours mode.

Kouji didn't respond, though he did kick the doors of the elevator in frustration when they wouldn't open. "Come _on_…"

A much larger, stronger hand suddenly descended, grabbing him rather close to the scruff of the neck. "Easy, Flashbulb." Logan growled down.

"Just calm down," Storm soothed, landing behind Logan as Kouji turned around. "and explain to us what's happening."

Kouji took a deep breath that sounded vaguely like a snarl, calming his frazzled nerves back into their normally unemotional state as best he could. "Last time this happened, he nearly blew the roof off my house. I can calm him down, but I have to be able to get to him, and _soon_…"

"What exactly is going on?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow behind his visor.

"I don't know." Kouji snapped, blood boiling as a certain prickle ran its way up the back of his neck. "He's scared. I _have_ to get up there!"

The look in his eyes made very few people want to disagree with him.

"Fine." Storm sighed, giving up in all thoughts of disinteresting him. "Kurt, I hate to ask you this, but…"

"No problem!" Nightcrawler nodded, straightening with a wide grin. "I von't mind a bit! Vat is, iv you don't mind, Kouji."

He offered his three-fingered hand to the black-haired boy questionably. Kouji glanced down at him, the realized what he was asking and grabbed on. "Fine. Bamph away."

"Hold on!" Kurt jumped a foot, whipping around to stare at Takuya, his yellow eyes locked on the tail in the brown-haired boy's grasp. "I'm comin' too!"

"Hey…vet go!" Kurt twisted his tail as best he could to try and get it out of Takuya's grasp. "Dat's really annoying, you know?"

Logan growled in his throat. "Sparky…"

"Look, I'm going, and that's that." Takuya snapped, just as sharply, looking both at Logan and at the glaring Kouji. "If he's really lost control, you don't know what he'll do. I'm comin' along to make sure he doesn't kill you two!"

"_Fine_." Kouji growled somewhat harshly. "Let's _go_."

Storm looked rather helplessly between the three strong-minded young mutants, then sighed heavily. "Fine…Good luck."

"Be careful!" Kitty warned.

With a nod between the three boys, they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

_BAMPH!_

Kurt's usually-enveloping cloud of sulfurous smoke was blown away almost instantly, the three mutant boys thrown back a few feet before managing to hold their position against the billowing, blowing darkness.

"Voah!" Kurt exclaimed, dropping to all fours and grabbing onto an exposed pipe. "He's veally going all out!"

Kouji growled, gripping something that seamed to be a flag pole to keep his balance, squinting through the swirling, whipping darkness. It wasn't long until he spotted the slightly shadowed figure crouching in the 'eye of the storm'. "Kouichi!"

Takuya, holding onto a concrete pillar with all his might, pulled out his lighter and summoned a ball of fire into his hand. With a backhand toss, he lobbed it into the depths of the darkness. It was blown out in an instant, but not before the light glow revealed the shadowed figure.

Kouichi was on his knees, arms hanging rather limp at his sides, looking straight up at the darkness-covered ceiling. Occasionally, tongues of darkness licked his body and face like the caress of a living creature, but he didn't respond, not to the touch and not to his brother's voice.

"What's going on?" Takuya shouted above the roar. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's not conscious!" Kouji called back. "The darkness is the only thing holding him up! He can't control this!"

"Then vhat are ve supposed to do?" Kurt asked, having wrapped his tail around Takuya's wrist as some extra support.

"_You_ two stay here!" Kouji planted his feet, pulling himself forward. "I'll get him! I have to…"

If Flare or Nightcrawler had any objections, they were lost to the raging winds of darkness, growing stronger and stronger with every step as Kouji pushed his way in. He grabbed on to anything even vaguely bolted down to drag his body through.

"Kouichi!" He shouted as soon as he could see the figure clearly. "It's me! It's Kouji! You need to calm down! Nii-san!"

To his surprise, the elder twin slowly turned his head to face him. His eyes were open, and there was a smile on his face, but…something was wrong. The blue eyes were dark, grayish and clouded over, and the smile was oddly curved…strange and unnerving. It was Kouichi's face, but at the same time…it wasn't.

"Hello, brother." He said, and the voice wasn't right either. It was deep and kind of creepy…almost mechanical, in a way.

Kouji narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

The boy in front of him spread his arms. "It's just me. Just as I've always been." The smile stretched a bit wider. "I was just ready to wake up."

"You're not Kouichi." Kouji growled. "Where is he? What've you done with him?"

"Exactly as you said." The voice chuckled. "He's right here, fast asleep. And while he sleeps, this body and these powers are _mine_…"

"Shut…the hell…up!" Kouji roared, and cut off with a pained yelp as something sharp and thin ran along his cheek. The resulting break of skin was sudden and deep, a stream of blood running down his face.

The voice within his brother smirked again. "You've been cut there before, haven't you?"

Automatically, Kouji raised a hand to feel the wound. The scar running below his right eye had been reopened…The scar that had…

"Yes, I remember. The last time this happened, you earned that scar 'rescuing' him, didn't you?" The voice laughed softly. "You know, he still blames himself for that, no matter what you tell him. I can hear every word." The voice changed slightly, a mockery of the boy whose body he possessed. "'It wouldn't have happened if only I could control myself. It's all my fault…' But of course, we know different, don't we?"

Kouji growled, shoving himself forward into the depths of the calm. The voice in his brother's throat just laughed.

"Do you think you can beat me?" He hissed, like a snake curling up on your favorite chair. "Think again, boy. You can push me away all you like, smother me with your precious light, but I'll always be here. This body and these powers are mine. And next time, it will be forever."

Kouji leapt, wrapping his arms around the controlled boy's shoulders. Kouichi took in a stuttering breath, closed his eyes, and slumped, dragging them both to the ground. Kouji breathed a sigh of relief, pulling his twin close to his chest as the darkness around them dissipated.

Flare and Nightcrawler came running through the swiftly-vanishing shadows. "Hey!" Takuya called, raving his now sealed-tight lighter. "You two okay?"

Kouji opened his eyes and relaxed his grip, keeping his tender 'brotherly moment' perfectly private. "We're fine…Everything's fine now."

"Fine?" Kurt asked, looking around, then jumped. "Gah! Vou're bleeding!"

Kouji wiped the blood off his cheek and onto his sleeve. "It's nothing. Just a cut." He slipped his arms behind his brother's, pulling him up with him. "Help me out here. It's time to go home."

Takuya and Kurt exchanged a confused glance, but shrugged and did as Yang had asked.

**__**

TBC…

Well…that was satisfying. BTW, Mystique is Rouge's adoptive mother and Kurt's biological one, but there's little to no love between them. Kurt does call her 'Mother' more often than not, but it's kind of bitter. (Personally, I think Mystique loves both Kurt and Rouge with all her heart, but she can't express this because they're on Xavier's side.)

Oh, and if you're confused about the 'mall in a hill thing', it's quite simple. The mall is built on the side of the hill, in such a way that one entrance (at the bottom of the hill) is set in the 'first' floor, while the second (at the top of the hill) is in the second. There are malls like this in San Antonio, Houston, Austin…etc.


	6. Shadowed Mysteries

This chapter's kind of short and choppy, but there's a reason for that. See the author's note at the end for information about the rest of this story. Hey, does anyone know Magneto's real name? I know it's (something) Maximoff, but I can't remember what that something is…

**__**

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or X-Men Evolution. So sue me. No wait…don't.

****

The X Evolution

Chapter 6: Shadowed Mysteries

Mystique 'hm'ed to herself, gazing contemplatively out the window of her house. Her blue lips were pursed together in thought, golden eyes strangely focused straight ahead.

"Um, hello?" Pietro called, annoyingly close to her ear. "Earth to Mystique! What the hell is up with you? That stupid idea nearly got me killed, and it was…"

The female mutant grabbed the motor mouth by the throat, glaring at him with fiercely yellow eyes. Pietro 'eep'ed slightly, breaking into a hyper-fast dash to break her grip, just long enough to get out of her way and duck behind the couch. From said couch, Lance watched the scene with a raised eyebrow. "What's the matter with you?"

"Mind your own business!" Mystique snapped, spinning on her heels and storming up to her room. The slam of the door shook the entire house.

Once inside, she moved to the desk and removed a small, gray cell phone from a drawer. Pressing the only working button, a spark of blue electricity ran through the tiny machine. A second later, a man's voice answered. "Well?"

"You were right." She muttered, walking to the window and gazing out into the stars. "He took control. The boy couldn't resist him, not until his brother intervened."

"…I see." The man's voice was contemplative.

"Should we tell Xavier?"

"No." The voice now curved so as to give one the image that its owner was smirking confidently. "There's no reason to _worry_ Charles. I'm sure he'll find out soon enough."

Mystique 'humph'ed a little under her breath. "So what do we do until then?"

"We wait." The voice whispered softly. "Until fate takes its course, we will wait."

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

The white-hot light seared his eyes painfully the moment he regain consciousness. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head away to burry them in his pillow. He whimpered just a little, shifting to roll over, away from the light.

"Oh, I'm sorry." A soft female voice whispered, and the light suddenly moved. "I didn't realize you were photosensitive."

Kouichi cracked his eyes open slowly, the light being somewhat tolerable. Ororo Monroe, dressed in the white lab coat she had wore the first day they met, was leaning over him and pressing a soft, cold cloth to his forehead. A short ways away, Hank McCoy was adjusting one of the machines attached to the boy, monitoring his senses.

Yin looked around lazily, realizing that he had been changed into a pair of pajama pants, a few nodes and wires attached to his bare arms and chest. "…Storm?"

"Yes, that's right." Ororo nodded, placing the cloth off to the side and brushing his hair away from his eyes. "Just take it easy. You've had a very rough night."

Kouichi blinked up at her, then planted his hands and tried to sit up. He was in the Institute infirmary, in one of the separate rooms set aside for patients who were severely injured or very sick.

"How…How long have I been out?" He asked painfully, blinking around.

"It hasn't been long." Ororo nodded to the clock. "Just a few hours."

He groaned, putting a hand on his head and closed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened. It came racing back to him and he gasped. "That's right! I…oh, gosh, is everyone all right? I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"No, you didn't." Hank laughed softly, moving to the boy to carefully remove the various nodes from their attached places. "You did scare us, though, with that panic attack. Loosing control of your abilities is always frightening, but your brother managed to figure out how to calm you down."

Kouichi opened his eyes suddenly, jerking a bit at his brother's name. "Kouji?"

"Yes, that's right." Ororo nodded, pouring a glass of water and offering it to the boy. He took it shakily and sipped it. "He's been very worried about you, and was rather angry when we brought you back here."

Kouichi blinked down at the water in his hands, then looked up at Storm. "Can I…see him?"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Even though it was late, Kouji was sitting up with a scowl on his lips. His arms were crossed over his chest as he sat on the window sill in the main living room, glaring out at the dark sky and grounds outside. The angry aura hovering around him was so thick and strong that everyone in the room could feel it, not just Jean.

"Hey, buddy, perk up." Takuya tried to reason with him hovering at the edge of the 'safety zone'. "It's not like he's dead or anything, they're just fixing him up."

"Yah!" Kurt nodded behind him, hologram now firmly in place. "Storm and Beast are both veally good at stuff vike dis! He'll be better in no time!"

"So, you know, don't worry."

Kouji growled softly, turning to glare at them. Somehow, the white gauze bandage attached over the cut on his cheek made his normally-threatening blue eyes even more intense.

"Or do." Takuya squeaked as he and Kurt backed off. "That's fine, too."

Kurt scrambled back, raising his hands in defense as he whispered to Takuya. "I think he's ever scarier than Logan, yah?"

A small cough echoed from the door. Storm was standing there, regal as always, her blue eyes turned to Kouji with a gentle expression. "He's awake now." She said softly. "And he's asking for you, Yang."

The long-haired boy was on his feet and following her before the other boys could draw a breath.

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

When his brother entered the room, Kouichi was leaning against the headboard, talking to Professor X in a soft, worried voice. The wheelchair-bound man recognized Kouji even before he entered and wheeled back out of the way as the long-haired boy raced to his brother's side.

"Nii-san." He gasped, placing his hands on the edge of the bed as he leaned over. "Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"I'm…fine." Kouichi mumbled, somewhat convincingly. He was staring down at the blue flannel sheets, pointedly refusing to look his brother in the eye.

Kouji frowned at this, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He reached out, very slowly, to rest his arm against his brother's shoulder and run his fingers loosely through his hair. Kouichi didn't seam injured…maybe he was sick? That thing, getting inside him, had it caused this?

"There's something you're not telling me." He muttered, softly but somewhat sternly.

Kouichi winced. "Kouji, I…"

"…Can't hide anything from me." Kouji finished bluntly, reaching to cover his brother's hand with his own. He gave it a gentle squeeze, leaning in to whisper so no one else had to hear. "Nii-san, come on. I know something's bothering you. Just tell me."

Kouichi turned his head just slightly to look at him. Then he bit his lip and turned back away, but not before Kouji followed his gaze to the cut on the younger twin's cheek. "…I hurt you again, didn't I?" Kouichi muttered miserably. "I couldn't control the darkness, and it hurt you again. I'm…sorry."

Kouji hissed softly, gripping his brother's hand a bit more tightly. Kouichi kept his eyes trained down. "I think…I'd better go back home. If I stay around here, then I'll just…"

"Don't you _ever_ start talking like that again!" Kouji snapped, and Kouichi jumped, looking up at his brother in surprise. Kouji gripped his brother's hand tightly, the look on his face something between anger and kindness as he tried to get his feelings back under control. "What happened…everything that's happened…it's _not _your fault. None of it.

"And besides…" He looked up at his brother, and this time his eyes were sincere, just sincere. "If you left went back…I'd go with you."

Kouichi was taken aback, and his mouth fell open just slightly. "Kouji…"

The younger twin leaned forward, putting his forehead against his brother's gently. "I'd go with you. No matter what."

"Kouji…" Kouichi whispered again, then closed his eyes. A slight tear ran down his cheek, even though his face was smiling. "…Thanks."

…

Ororo watched the exchange between the brothers from the doorway and smiled softly. Charles wheeled his way beside her and looked up at her with a smile. "I don't think we need to worry, storm." He said gently, glancing at the boys. "They won't be going anywhere soon."

"Oh, Professor." Ororo looked down at him and smiled as well. "Yes, I think…you're right. I was concerned, for a moment…"

"With good reason." Xavier nodded steepling his fingers thoughtfully. "Yin was…afraid, I believe. His concern for others makes it all the harder for him. But I do believe that the two of them…equate each other. Each of them balances the other out." He smiled thoughtfully. "It is…good…that they are so close."

Ororo nodded in understanding, but she did have some worry lining her features. "Professor…The voice, Kouji mentioned hearing…"

"Not now." The Professor nodded peacefully, wheeling himself slowly past Storm and back out into the main hall. "Let's give them some time. There's not need to worry about anything…for now."

****

The X-Evolution, Episode 1 - _END_.

Now before you start freaking out, let me explain something. The rest of this story will take place (in the timeline) about two months after this chapter ends. To make it easier to understand that, I am separating the two sections as though they are two 'episodes' of the show, meant to have several episodes in between. In other words, this IS NOT THE END. The first chapter of the other half will be posted in a few weeks!


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